Ian Redmond Talks About The Year of the Gorilla

It started with a simple conversation at breakfast. We talked to them about travel in India and how they were visiting their son that is working in Bhopal. We offered up some information about festivals that were happening around town and they told us some information about other sites in the area.

The following morning, we exchanged pleasantries and asked about their day. For some reason we started talking about our travel blog and how we are traveling the world indefinitely.

That was when Ian Redmond and his wife decided to join us for breakfast. Dave and I knew that he looked familiar, we just didn’t know where from.

It turns out he is the U.N. Ambassador for the Year of the Gorilla. The YogBlog (Year of the Gorilla Blog) is what he is trying to learn to market. Here is a man that has been in 50 documentaries, advised Sigourney Weaver for Gorilla’s in the Mist, had a character based on him in the film and is in high demand as a public speaker around the world.

And here we are giving him advice on how to tweet.

We didn't know who we were speaking to!

Now you have to understand, we didn’t know who we were speaking to. We thought that here is a nice couple, maybe we could give them a few pointers to put them in the right direction.

Little did we know that they didn't need help from little old Marketingkonferenz since they have the United Nations helping them out. But hey, maybe we could attract another set of readers to their incredible cause.

Initially he told us that he writes a blog about conservation efforts and would like to learn how to draw more traffic to the site. Social Networking is new to many organizations and companies, so maybe sometimes we Bloggers can offer a little bit of help or advice.

As we spoke more we began to realize who he was. We both knew that we had seen him on several documentaries and it dawned on us that we were speaking to a legend.

Digging deeper to learn more.

I just had to dig a bit more so I asked him if he has ever hosted documentaries or been on television. All he said was “yes, in some capacity or another.” We knew he was holding back.

It was a wonderful breakfast.

We learned about gorilla conservation and we learned about the horrible life that temple and festival elephants face in India. As Ian said, it is a dismal existence being revered. Ian has also been involved in successful efforts to ban abusive elephant festivals here in India. If you want to know the plight of the elephant or any of the great apes, he is the leading authority on all.

It made me feel very guilty about taking a ride on Lakshmi the elephant in Hampi. I told him that I saw tears in her eyes during their 500 year celebration and asked if she was actually crying like I thought the might be. He said that elephants do cry and tear up when they are under stress. As to if she was crying and emotional like a human being, we cannot know. But elephants are very intelligent and do feel real emotions.

Did you know that 2009 was the year of the Gorilla?

If you didn’t, well start doing your research now. Mountain Gorillas are starting to thrive and with the conservation efforts in Rwanda and Uganda that Ian pioneered along with his mentor Dian Fossy, they are the only great ape in the world that are actually expanding in numbers.

There is a lot of work to be done however, Gorillas can be found in 10 countries in Africa and they are hunted for their meat. Poaching is a serious problem and they are even killed by farmers for destroying their crops.

Some tribes revere the gorilla and would never hurt it while others revere them for their strength and believe that by eating Gorilla meat they will in turn gain strength themselves. Other people eat gorilla meat simply because it is food.

Ian Redmond with Gorilla

The Gorilla’s main obstacle in survival however is habitat loss. Great changes need to be done in the world to conserve our natural resources. Ian is now speaking and lecturing on this issue. He has attended climate summits and confrances around the world and is working relentlessly to make a difference.

Meeting Ian and his wife inspired both Dave and I to do more to help this world. We are excellent with travel, photography and video and to hear the trials and tribulations he went through in Africa with film crews not showing up and funding falling through we feel that we could contribute greatly to these causes.

He ended up filming his documentary himself and couldn’t edit on the fly. It is something that we are definitely wanting to look into. We have been searching for our way to make a difference in our travels. We have been searching for a way to help that inspires us and will keep our interest.

Our Giving Back Series has helped us to stay focused on looking for a cause that we are passionate about that all of the other great guest contributors are.

Maybe we have just found our passion and own little way to give back to the world. Maybe we could accompany the experts one day and help them get their word out instantly with our knowledge of the web and video editing.

In the mean time, we will continue to spread the word about environmental issues and wildlife abuse that we witness in our travels and look for ways that we and our readers can help out.

To learn more about the Year of the Gorilla and how you can help check out TheYogBlog

15 Responses to "Ian Redmond Talks About The Year of the Gorilla"

By Phil Smith April 2, 2011 - 6:03 pm

Really interesting running across this article, because I visited Rwanda and Uganda in the Summer and actually went up to see the Gorillas in Rwanda. (Knackering climb! I definitely need to do more exercise and get fitter!)

It was absolutely amazing! It came about two weeks into a three week trip that me and my sister were having around Africa. Quite a bit of safari stuff in Kenya as well. But it was definitely the highlight.

Most of the group saw the Gorllas on the Ugandan side, but there were four of us who had to go to Rwanda.

I wasn’t sure about it at first, because you always associate Rwanda with the war etc. But it was a really pleasant surprise. Rwanda actually seemed to be far more prosperous than Uganda, and everywhere was more developed. More aid money I guess?

Anyhow, reading this article brought it all back to me. So thanks for that.

You should definitely go and see them (if you haven’t already). Amazing animals. I have like a hour of footage of them. Keep meaning to set up a website to put it up!

[…] of the area. You are almost guaranteed a sighting of our closest cousins.More on Primates – Ian Redmond Talks about Gorillas, Great Things to do in Malaysian Borneo Our Bikes at Sunset5. Cycle the Country – If you want an […]

By Dina July 28, 2010 - 1:33 am

Love the story. What a modest guy he is. Animal in captivity (including zoo) sometimes get me wondering, are they happy being there? My best guess is, many are not happy. When we saw animals in their natural habitat, seeing the freedom the penguins have to swim long distance, the kangaroos hopping everywhere, the birds, the crocodiles, they are all enjoying being in big space with many (nature) things going on. But their relatives that are kept in the zoo, they are confined into tiny space. I just imagine how if I’m not allowed to get out from my bedroom for years. Ah, I apologize for the random thought. Don’t get me wrong, I love visiting zoos, because I love to learn about animals and seeing them. But, I can’t help wondering, will someday it’s becoming general opinion that it’s cruel to keep animals in captivity like in zoos. .-= Dina´s last blog ..Top 3 Pieces of Traveling Advice by Travelers Around the World =-.

By davendeb August 1, 2010 - 12:46 am

It really was amazing meeting Ian and his wife Caroline. I have to say that I have a problem with zoos. I don’t like to visit them. They seem so broken behind barriers. Some zoos are better than others, but the animals are still confined. It goes against everything in their instincts to roam and be wild. Conservation and preservation would be an answer, but it is not in the human DNA to conserve. It seems that en mass we destroy. I hope it changes one day. People can learn so much more about an animal in the wild than looking at it sitting in a cage:(

By Jason July 22, 2010 - 12:03 am

I stumbled across this post as part of your 7 Link Blog Challenge. I had a similar experience to yours in that I was in Rwanda visiting the Gorillas in 2003 when I got talking to a few people at the dinner table in our small guesthouse in Ruhengeri. After a great old chat about the Gorilla’s, you could sense that this old fella knew a little bit more about these creatures than the average traveler. I then found out that it was Dr George Schaller. It seems the Discovery Chanel were there doing a documentary on his 40th aniversay of a famous research paper on the mountain gorillas, that then saw Louis Leakey and Diane Fossey follow up on this reaserch. Just one of those moments, of the right spot at the right time. Great Subject and Great post……

By Ian Redmond January 19, 2010 - 7:32 am

Hello Dave and Deb, just read your blog on our meeting – many thanks for drawing the attention of your readers to http://www.YoG2009.org – we are now back in the UK and I’m writing a YoG Blog Epilogue in which I’ll return the favour and mention PlanetD. After leaving Udaipur, we were wowed by the Amber Palace in Jaipur (though saddened by the hundred or so elephants trudging up and down carrying tourists – we went to see where they are kept when not working, and found they are chained to the ground for most of the rest of the time while being hand-fed and having their feet scrubbed and trimmed – not much of a life for a social being with a brain foour times the size of ours…). We saw our first wild tigers on a chilly morning game drive in Ranthambhore, and visited several World heritage Sites, including stunning Bhuddist stupas at Sanchi and deeply thought-provoking pre-historic cave art at Bhimbetka, near Bhopal. Your idea of joint travels with key conservationists to help get their message out sounds great – let’s discuss dates and places… Cheers, Ian and Caroline (now adjusting back to life in an English Winter)

By davendeb January 20, 2010 - 3:52 am

Ian, thanks so much for stopping by to say hello! You just name the place and we will be there. So sad to hear about the treatment of elephants at the Amber Palace. I don’t understand how people can revere an animal and then keep it chained. Terrible.

By Jennifer April 18, 2010 - 5:24 pm

My name is Jennifer and I’m writing an I-Search paper in school. My topic is on elephant poaching. I checked out your book “The Elephant Book” from the library. I was wondering if it would be possible to you and ask you a few questions about elephant poaching and the Elefriend campaign. Thanks.

By davendeb April 18, 2010 - 10:34 pm

Hi Jennifer, I suggest you go to the log blog, (the link is listed above at the end of the post) That is Ian’s blog and maybe you can find a way to get in touch with him through there. This is just a post about Ian, it is not his website.

By Anna Your Journey January 12, 2010 - 3:51 pm

Wow thank you so much for adding this to your blog. I am into all things gorilla, send people to Uganda and have tracked gorilla’s in Bwindi and did not know of this blog. Just goes to show you yet again, you never know who you are talking to and who you will meet when you just start up a conversation. Cheers Anna

By davendeb January 19, 2010 - 12:52 am

Anna, so glad that we could let you know about Ian’s sites. He has amazing things to say and the more people that we can get the word out to the better! We are hoping to get to Uganda and Rwanda in the near future.

By Trisha Miller January 11, 2010 - 7:33 pm

I LOVE the idea (of you guys traveling with people like Ian to help them get exposure for their causes)….I’m sure there are a number of people like him who would love to have your help! .-= Trisha Miller´s last blog ..Interview: Susan Farewell, Travel Writer and Author =-.